Scores of travellers taking the through-train to Guangzhou were stranded in Hung Hom yesterday when unannounced construction work by the Guangdong railway authorities disrupted schedules.
The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation said it was only informed of the work yesterday afternoon. It said inquiries were made last week about frequent delays of up to 20 minutes affecting through-train services recently.
The KCRC said it was told by the Guangzhou Railway Corporation that the disruptions were caused by construction work on a new rail line. Speed controls were imposed on some sections of the track, the KCRC was told.
Until the rail work is completed in early March, the usual 100-minute through-train journey will take between 30 minutes and 80 minutes longer.
There were stranded passengers at the Hung Hom terminal for most of yesterday afternoon.
A 5.15pm service was delayed until 6.50pm, while the last train to Guangzhou, which was scheduled to depart at 7.15pm, did not pull out of the station until 9pm.
Some passengers complained that the through-train service had been getting worse recently and said they might consider other forms of transport in the future.